December 29, 20186 yr From what I am reading, the common strain in my area is the A/H1N1. On the CDC site it says they have updated the vaccine to cover A(H3N2). So what the hell does this mean? Please no conspiracy theory crap. Just is it worth your time to get the shot and get your kids the shot if it doesn't seem to be the same strain. Does it cover multiple strains or help prevent other strains even if it's catered to a different virus?
December 29, 20186 yr I always get it regardless of type since my annual checkup is in November and it’s free, plus I’m around my elderly dad and a bunch of cootie-ridden in-laws during the holidays. Haven’t gotten sick the past couple of years.
December 29, 20186 yr Flu Vaccine is an inexact science, trying to determine which strain is going to be the biggest threat. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they are not as effective. I got the flu last Summer and my wife thought I was full of shit. Until she got it and said, yep that's the flu... So it's actually around year round BUT now is the flu season. I get one every year now, because even if they don't hit 100% some protection is better than none. There is a reason the shots are free for most healthcare plans.
December 29, 20186 yr This year's bad strain is the same as last year, so the vax is very accurate. The flu kills people, so you should get the vax if you don't want to die.Disclaimer: I get the vax every year and haven't had the flu since Jr. High.
December 29, 20186 yr 18 minutes ago, woohorn said: Disclaimer: I get the vax every year and haven't had the flu since Jr. High. how's that baby arm working out for you?
December 29, 20186 yr All three of us in my family get the flu shot every here. I didn’t use to when I was younger and I got the flu one year. I’ve gotten it very year since then and have not gotten the flu.
December 29, 20186 yr My two year old had the flu back before Christmas. It took her three weeks to get back to somewhat normal. Last week there was a four year old near here who tested negative for the flu and ended up dying due to complications from H1N1. Apparently his fever spiked and he was having trouble breathing so they airlifted him to Arkansas Children’s. Things like this scare the shit out of me since I have small kids. I can’t imagine what his family is going through. In short, get the shot.
December 29, 20186 yr 1 minute ago, MNLonghornFUKM said: dont remember last time i got the shot or the flu Same.
December 29, 20186 yr Quote What viruses will the 2018-2019 flu vaccines protect against? There are many different flu viruses and they are constantly changing. The composition of U.S. flu vaccines is reviewed annually and updated as needed to match circulating flu viruses. Flu vaccines protect against the three or four viruses (depending on vaccine) that research suggests will be most common. For 2018-2019, trivalent (three-component) vaccines are recommended to contain: A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016 A(H3N2)-like virus (updated) B/Colorado/06/2017-like (Victoria lineage) virus (updated) Quadrivalent (four-component) vaccines, which protect against a second lineage of B viruses, are recommended to contain: the three recommended viruses above, plus B/Phuket/3073/2013-like (Yamagata lineage) virus CDC Get the vaccine, unless you think you have a shot at Jenny McCarthy. It covers A/H1N1.
December 29, 20186 yr Author Jenny McCarthy is married to Donnie Wahlberg so I don't think anyone's prying her loose from that dreamboat.
December 29, 20186 yr Team flu shot. Like someone said earlier, I get mine at my annual checkup and it's free.
December 30, 20186 yr I was late getting it one year. That was the year we went to a party at our friends' house who are the "all natural" types. About 3 days later everyone at the party got the flu, including my son and the 4 other kids there. We later found out the "all natural" people were sick the week before, didn't go to the doctor, and I guess didn't clean the house very well. They told us to just drink some broth, take some vitamins and we'd be fine. Luckily my son had his flu shot a month or so before, and he barely had a fever at all when we all went to the doctor to get tamiflu. I was feeling almost delusional when they took my temperature at 103 or something. That tamiflu is one of the greatest things ever invented, along with Zenfel.
December 30, 20186 yr I do not get the shot, and I have not gotten the flu. My wife and kids get it every year, and last year wifey had worst flu of her life.
December 30, 20186 yr 7 minutes ago, Kyle said: I do not get the shot, and I have not gotten the flu. My wife and kids get it every year, and last year wifey had worst flu of her life. Why not get the shot? Based on your story, getting the flu shot is the only way to get the flu. Is that your opinion?
December 30, 20186 yr 13 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said: Why not get the shot? Based on your story, getting the flu shot is the only way to get the flu. Is that your opinion? May I suggest: https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/index.php?/forum/17-politics/ In all seriousness, my old company used to give free shots to everyone, so I assume virtually everyone I come in contact with got the shot, so why bother given the low probability of them getting the right one ... plus, not a big fan of needles and shots. If Jenny McCarthy were the nurse, I'd get it every year. Edited December 30, 20186 yr by Kyle
December 30, 20186 yr Yeah, right before break my son had a school project with a kid who had the flu. So the day we left for a long drive to Santa Fe, I started him on Tamiflu and then when we got to Santa Fe I had to get Tamiflu for my other son, myself and my wife. My youngest son was sick for the whole trip. My wife got sick the third day of the trip although it was mild and she was able to ski with difficulty the last day. My other son got sick the fourth day so he was only able to ski the two days before he got sick. His case too was mild. And I stayed healthy. Still, if we all had flu shots our trip would not have been fucked up. Edited December 30, 20186 yr by Bevo
December 30, 20186 yr Author 9 minutes ago, gsoda3 said: There is zero downside to getting the shot. Honestly the "downside" for me is finding time to do it. Not necessarily for me personally, I could go during the work day. But I'm not really concerned about me, more so the kids. Mondays we have Scouts and catechism, Tuesday is basketball, Wednesday is Dance and the after school art class, Thursday cheerleading, blah blah blah. The reason I asked the original question was just because I have often heard/read (from dubious sources) that the strain they vaccinate for is rarely the prevalent strain. And with all of the craziness that encompasses our daily lives these days I would not want to waste our time trying to figure out a way to get it done. The info jimmyjazz provided above though does seem to indicate it's worth the effort of trying to get them in to get it done. I guess I just needed to read a little further into the fine print on the CDC's website.
December 30, 20186 yr I get the shot every year. I had the flu a long time ago and don’t want to go through that agaIn. Even if I get the flu hopefully the vaccine will make it not as bad. I was at the dr last week for a physical and we were talking about the flu shot. He said even if the shot is not exact to the current strain, the antibodies from previous shots are still present and helpful. Interesting fact, per the cdc, there were 80,000 deaths in the US last year due to the flu.
December 30, 20186 yr 2 hours ago, Kyle said: I do not get the shot, and I have not gotten the flu. My wife and kids get it every year, and last year wifey had worst flu of her life. Kyle continues to cement his status as the most obvious troll sock on surly. Fuck off, Kyle.
December 30, 20186 yr 3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said: Kyle continues to cement his status as the most obvious troll sock on surly. Fuck off, Kyle. Chuckle. You have to be a serious snowflake to lose your tampon on a thread about a flu vaccine.
December 30, 20186 yr 1 hour ago, Baboontyme said: Honestly the "downside" for me is finding time to do it. Not necessarily for me personally, I could go during the work day. But I'm not really concerned about me, more so the kids. Mondays we have Scouts and catechism, Tuesday is basketball, Wednesday is Dance and the after school art class, Thursday cheerleading, blah blah blah. The reason I asked the original question was just because I have often heard/read (from dubious sources) that the strain they vaccinate for is rarely the prevalent strain. And with all of the craziness that encompasses our daily lives these days I would not want to waste our time trying to figure out a way to get it done. The info jimmyjazz provided above though does seem to indicate it's worth the effort of trying to get them in to get it done. I guess I just needed to read a little further into the fine print on the CDC's website. There is no time for a 5 minute trip to CVS? But you have time to post here?
December 30, 20186 yr Author Honestly Eddie, the last time I got the flu shot I went to CVS. It was a 45 minute ordeal.
December 30, 20186 yr Here's my downside: I've gotten the flu shot maybe five times in my life and each time, I've had a reaction (I guess it was working) and been pretty sick for about a week or more. I may have had the flu once when I was a kid but never in my adult life. So weighing the guarantee of being sick (again, just a reaction, not the flu, but still pretty sick and shut down for a week) vs. the low likelihood of actually getting the flu (if past performance is predictive), I haven't had a flu shot in probably a decade. Now when they make a sinus infection shot, sign me up. Whenever I mention that the shot makes me sick every time, I'm blessed with a lecture on how the shot can't give you the flu, even though my claim isn't that it gives me the flu - it just makes me sick every time. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth being sick from the shot every winter just to avoid the condescending strawman arguments.
December 30, 20186 yr The shot can give people some symptoms of the flu as I assume your body is fighting what it thinks is the flu. I’ve felt run-down for a day or two after the flu shot. As it takes two weeks for the shot to be effective, maybe the symptoms can also last that long. I don’t know. Getting flu symptoms for a week after the shot is a good reason to avoid the vaccine. But then again if someone is that sensitive to the flu shot, I wouldn’t want to imagine how they are with the actual flu. at the end of the day, the more people that get the flu vaccine, the less that can be spread. It’s not perfect, and some years the vaccine is more accurate than others.
December 30, 20186 yr The flu is serious. Some years it kills more people in the US than breast cancer. Get the shot.
December 30, 20186 yr Flu tracker based on patients in the Houston Methodist hospital system: https://flu.houstonmethodist.org/
December 30, 20186 yr 12 hours ago, Kyle said: Chuckle. You have to be a serious snowflake to lose your tampon on a thread about a flu vaccine. It is the mixed metaphors that really piss me off.
December 30, 20186 yr I didn't get a flu shot for years & I never had the flu; but as I've gotten older I decided that I should get the shot (free via work). I've had a couple of friends, only a few years older than me, who never got the vaccine and they got the flu. One of them had other ailments, but that combined with the flu was too much for him & he passed away. I decided that it wasn't worth the risk to only get the vaccine when I needed it, so I get it every year...this is my 4th year & I still haven't got the flu.
December 30, 20186 yr The biggest part of avoiding the flu is to have good hygiene habits and try to be around others that do as well. Wash you hands before eating or touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
December 30, 20186 yr 13 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said: The biggest part of avoiding the flu is to have good hygiene habits and try to be around others that do as well. Wash you hands before eating or touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Hard to only be around others that do, when you have kids in a school system with 3-4,000 kids. So you are only a few siblings away from whatever any and all of them have been in contact with.
December 30, 20186 yr 2 minutes ago, Wally Fairway said: Hard to only be around others that do, when you have kids in a school system with 3-4,000 kids. So you are only a few siblings away from whatever any and all of them have been in contact with. I understand especially with kids that attend the virus incubators known as school. And while not 100% proven, there seems to be evidence that getting plenty of sleep can also keep your immune system strong.
December 30, 20186 yr I got the flu shot once back in high school and wound up getting the flu shortly after. That’s the only time I’ve ever had the flu and haven’t gotten the shot since.
December 30, 20186 yr 18 hours ago, Baboontyme said: Honestly the "downside" for me is finding time to do it. Not necessarily for me personally, I could go during the work day. But I'm not really concerned about me, more so the kids. Mondays we have Scouts and catechism, Tuesday is basketball, Wednesday is Dance and the after school art class, Thursday cheerleading, blah blah blah. The reason I asked the original question was just because I have often heard/read (from dubious sources) that the strain they vaccinate for is rarely the prevalent strain. And with all of the craziness that encompasses our daily lives these days I would not want to waste our time trying to figure out a way to get it done. The info jimmyjazz provided above though does seem to indicate it's worth the effort of trying to get them in to get it done. I guess I just needed to read a little further into the fine print on the CDC's website. “Rarely” is an overstatement. Like others have said, every year it’s a guessing game as to which strains to include in the seasonal vaccine. Even in “bad” years, the vaccine covers like >50% of what’s out there in the wild, IIRC. This year happens to be a “good” year, as others have said. My employer requires me to get vaccinated (and provides free vaccine clinics during work hours), but even if they didn’t, I’d get the vaccine every year. I last got the flu in ‘08 or ‘09 (before working for this employer and without a flu shot) and it was fucking awful. I’d let Jenny McCarthy inject me with a syringe full of used motor oil if it was proven to prevent the flu more often than not.
January 4, 20196 yr On 12/29/2018 at 6:03 PM, Nice Guy Eddie said: Why would you not get it? I don't want Autism. But seriously, I get it every year. It's free and it takes 2 minutes.
January 4, 20196 yr Get your flu shot. If you really want to avoid the flu, stay away from children and people with children. I love the annual "I have never had a flu shot and have never had the flu" parade of idiots. Yep, not getting the shot protected you from the flu. "I never wear my seatbelt, and have never died in a car accident. Seat belts are worthless." Edited January 4, 20196 yr by Deej
January 4, 20196 yr Get your flu shot. If you really want to avoid the flu. Stay away from children and people with children. I love the annual "I have never had a flu shot and have never had the flu" parade of idiots. Yep, not getting the shot protected you from the flu. "I never wear my seatbelt, and have never died in a car accident. Seat belts are worthless."Seatbelts drive the cars?
January 4, 20196 yr On 12/29/2018 at 7:45 PM, Baboontyme said: Honestly the "downside" for me is finding time to do it. Not necessarily for me personally, I could go during the work day. But I'm not really concerned about me, more so the kids. Mondays we have Scouts and catechism, Tuesday is basketball, Wednesday is Dance and the after school art class, Thursday cheerleading, blah blah blah. The reason I asked the original question was just because I have often heard/read (from dubious sources) that the strain they vaccinate for is rarely the prevalent strain. And with all of the craziness that encompasses our daily lives these days I would not want to waste our time trying to figure out a way to get it done. The info jimmyjazz provided above though does seem to indicate it's worth the effort of trying to get them in to get it done. I guess I just needed to read a little further into the fine print on the CDC's website. Go to your local pharmacy and they can do it for you. Takes 15 minutes and doesn't cost anything.
January 4, 20196 yr 3 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said: 3 hours ago, Deej said: Get your flu shot. If you really want to avoid the flu. Stay away from children and people with children. I love the annual "I have never had a flu shot and have never had the flu" parade of idiots. Yep, not getting the shot protected you from the flu. "I never wear my seatbelt, and have never died in a car accident. Seat belts are worthless." Seatbelts drive the cars? no - Elon Musk drives the car. Does not wearing your seatbelt protect you from the other drivers on the road? Or do you only drive when the roads are empty?
January 4, 20196 yr no - Elon Musk drives the car. Does not wearing your seatbelt protect you from the other drivers on the road? Or do you only drive when the roads are empty?I wear seatbelts because getting in a car crash is highly more likely than getting the flu in my experience.
January 4, 20196 yr 12 minutes ago, MNLonghornFUKM said: I wear seatbelts because getting in a car crash is highly more likely than getting the flu in my experience. That's a good plan, as more people die from car crashes than the flu. Then again
January 4, 20196 yr Putting on a seat belt every time you step into a vehicle is more time spent over a year than walking into a pharmacy to get a shot. Or if you really want to be efficient just schedule an annual exam with your primary care doc every October. the nurse will give you the flu shot in 5 seconds. but ridiculous conversation to treat seatbelt and flu shot as having to choose one over the other.
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